In Love With?
by piper maru duchovny
Summary: What happens when fourteen year old Gretchen over hears a conversation between one fair haired boy and the girl down the creek? CHAPTER 3 UP!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I LOVE Dawson's Creek and what do I love even more? Dawson and Gretchen!**

**Disclaimer: Not Mine....poo :(**

Fourteen year old Gretchen Witter was walking through Capeside, her walkman blasting Elvis Costello at an ear splitting decibal. She kicked a stone on the road, she saw Dawson Leery's house a few yards away. She stood for a minute, she considered Dawson to be a friend, even if he was supposed to be her little brother's best friend. Gretchen thought for a moment, _maybe I could drop by, I mean Pacey loves this place, he always comes home in a better mood, maybe it'd work for me too. _She walked down the Leery's driveway and saw a ladder leading up to the roof, all of Capeside knew that ladder belonged to Joey Potter, well it didn't belong to her, but it was pretty exclusively for her use only. Gretchen rested her hands on her hips and looked up at the window leading to Dawson's room. She pulled her scrunchie off her wrist and pulled her hair up, her bangs were finally long enough she could pull it all back.

She sighed and started climbing up the rungs of the ladder. Gretchen stepped lightly onto the roof, she felt like she was invading a special club. Gretchen paused outside the room when she heard Dawson talking to Joey, she was about to turn around and go when she heard her name.

"You LOVE Gretchen Witter?!" Eleven year old Josephine Potter exclaimed.

"Sssh!" She heard Dawson exclaim, Gretchen slid to a sitting position on the roof, trying to catch her breath, _Dawson Leery, DAWSON LEERY loved her?!_

"What it's not like Mitch and Gail are listenin'!" Joey said and Gretchen could almost hear the eye roll, "Now answer my question."

"Yes. I'm in love with Gretchen Witter." Dawson sighed.

"IN love with?!" Joey expressed verbally the exact sentiment that Gretchen had been thinking. Sure Gretchen knew that Dawson had a crush on her, but she had been sure he just liked her cause that would annoy the crap out of Pacey.

"JOEY!" Dawson exclaimed out of embarassment.

"Sorry... in love with!?" Joey whispered harshly.

"Yes."

"Dawson you're eleven."

"Almost twelve." Dawson said offensively.

"So? She's almost fifteen!" Joey replied.

"And your point is?" Dawson asked her, Gretchen was trying to control her breathing at that moment, no one had ever said they loved her besides her family and here Dawson Leery was proclaiming to the girl down the creek that he was IN love with her. Gretchen felt faint.

"So... it's weird." Joey said in a tone that could only be described as jealous.

"No it's not. Bogey was twenty five years older then Bacall." Dawson said.

"You're comparing this to Bogey and Bacall?" Joey asked.

"I love her Joey. PLEASE don't tell Pacey. He has such a big mouth and I would be so embarrassed if Gretch knew. God knows she doesn't love me back." Dawson said.

"Alright." Joey relented and Gretchen got up, her legs felt like jello as she made her way down the ladder.

Gretchen was walking back up the driveway trying to process it all, when someone grabbed her shoulder and spun her around, "Gretchen? What are you doing here?" Dawson asked, a look of terror on his face.

"Oh, I was looking for Pacey, but uh Grams said he had just left or something." Gretchen told him.

"Oh. Okay. You want something to hang out with me and Joey?" Dawson offered.

"Uhm no thanks Dawson, I'll see you around though." Gretchen said and gave him a mega-watt smile.

"Alright." Dawson forced himself not to be disappointed, "Hey Gretch?"

"Yeah?" Gretchen looked him in the eye.

"High school is gonna be a great. You're gonna do fine. Don't let Pacey or Doug or Carrie tell you it's gonna be horrible. They're idiots."

Gretchen let out a breathy chuckle, "Thanks Dawson. I needed that."

Dawson shrugged, "Catchya later Witter." He said and sprinted off down the yard to the dock to meet Joey at the boat.

When Gretchen fell asleep that night, her thoughts were filled with a fair haired overly optomistic boy.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you two for the reviews. I am continuing this cause I was asked nicely and I love Gretchen/Dawson. Plus the Gretchen/Dawson episodes are on Noggin this week haha.**

**Disclaimer: again NOT MINE!**

Gretchen Witter looked at Capeside High as she climbed out of her car, she took a deep breath and settled her bookbag on her shoulders. It was her Senior year. Eight more months and then she was done, Thank God.

Gretchen heard laughter and turned her head, she smiled, her brother Pacey was walking towards the school flanked on either side by Dawson Leery and Joey Potter. Gretchen laughed herself as she saw Dawson make a funny face and do an impersonation of her father. Most daughters would take offense at someone mocking her father, but her dad was an ass, ecspecially to Pacey. She was glad that Pacey had friends who stood beside him like Dawson.

Pacey had to be the brother that Gretchen liked the most, he was probably the most normal out of all the Witters, besides herself of course. Gretchen credited his best friend for all that, Dawson and his family were always like family to the Witters and always gave Pacey, and even Gretchen on occasion, a place to run away to. Gretchen bit her cheek, letting her mind wander to the fairhaired boy she had once made fun of.

Her world had changed just three years ago when she had been outside Dawson's Window, not eavesdropping, well not on purpose. Gretchen had heard him tell Joey that he was in love with Gretchen. Gretchen was sure that it was just some adolescent crush that would pass over time, and while the crush had faded over time, Dawson's eyes still lit up when they met hers.

Gretchen sighed as she made her way into the school to collect her schedule. Just when she thought that maybe she could reciprocate Dawson's feelings, it seemed that he had fallen head over heels for his best friend, Joey Potter. Gretchen knew that she couldn't compare to Joey, that she couldn't loosen the bond that the two shared, but part of her also knew that the love Joey and Dawson had, but hid from one another, was a childhood love. A love of testing the waters, finding out what dating was really all about. She had a premonition that someday her brother would end up in the arms of the brunette from down the creek and when that day came, maybe Gretchen could have her turn, her turn with Peter Pan.

"Gretchen!" Dawson hollered and sprinted over to her.

"Hey Freshie." She teased lightly and gave him her patented Gretchen Witter smile.

"Whatever Gretch." Dawson rolled his eyes and Gretchen chuckled.

"I'm just kidding Dawson, what do you want?" Gretchen asked him as she kicked her locker, trying to get open. Dawson swooped in and opened it with ease, "Mysogynistic piece of shit." She muttered.

"Gretch..." He teasingly scolded, "It's not mysogynistic, you warmed it up for me."

"Whatever Dawson."

"Anyways, I just wanted to say Hi. Ya know, wish you luck on the start of your senior year." Gretchen almost melted, that's why she liked him, he was great at the simple things.

"Thank you Dawson. Good luck with your freshman year. Stay away from Mr. Thorton, he's psycho. Try all the clubs once and if nothing else you'll find a place among the AV geeks. Make sure my brother doesn't flunk out completely and you should be fine." Gretchen told him, smiling so hard she felt like she slept with a hangar in her mouth.

"Thanks Gretchen." Dawson smiled.

"Dawson!" Joey called from where she was standing with Pacey.

"Gretch, quit hogging my best friend!" Pacey called.

"Buzz off Loser." Gretchen told him with a roll of the eyes.

"I should go. See ya around Witter." Dawson told her with a smile.

"Catchya later Leery." Gretchen breathed as he walked away, leaning to heavily against her locker door and it shut, "Dammit."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:: Thank you all for the reviews. Helen, thanks for the support =D**

**Disclaimer: NOT MINE**

Gretchen stared sadly at her phone as she hung up, she had just gotten off the phone with her mother, finalizing the plans to come home, with every intention of never looking back. Pacey was somewhere in the Ocean with Joey? Sure, Gretchen had always hoped that someday Pacey would get his act together and ask Joey out, but she hoped that it would never come with the demise of his friendship with Dawson. She was split, part of her was ecstatic for her brother and the other part of her broke her heart for her friend. Of course this little manuever came just as she was heading home. She was quitting college, taking a break is what she had said to pacifiy her parents, but she knew better. Gretchen couldn't stand it anymore, no more Nick and all his lies, no more being irresponsible.

Gretchen flopped down on her bed for her final night in the Pheta House. She didn't feel like joining the festivities outside. Gretchen sighed and stared out her window at the stars, remembering the story her grandmother had always told her about Isabella, she felt a few tears slip down her face and she rested her hand on her stomach. She believed that when she had lost her baby, she had lost her Isabella, that now her unborn child danced with it's predecessor among the stars.

The next morning Gretchen left for Capeside bright and early. Even though she would be bunking on her brother's couch, she was glad to be going home. She wondered if she saw Dawson, what would she say to him? The poor guy was probably inconsolable, she wondered if he would ever get over Joey Potter, would he ever be friends with Pacey again? Gretchen bit her lip as glad as she was for Pacey and Joey, if Pacey had lost the friendship with the one guy who had always been there for him, then she was gonna clock him.

Arriving at Doug's house in the early afternoon, she let herself in and for the first time all day she laughed, "This is why we all think you're gay Dougie." She told the house quietly. Doug was at work, so she had the house to herself until he got home that evening around eight. Gretchen unpacked quickly. Putting her clothes and things in the spare hall closet, she kicked off her shoes and collapsed on the couch. She grabbed the remote and turned on the TV, "Dougie, Dougie, Dougie. Primo Cable channels, maybe YOU are my favorite brother."

Gretchen flicked through channels mindlessly, when she came across an old movie on SCI-FI, a movie she had seen close to 200 times and it was due to a fairhaired boy who held the best Saturday night movies. It was ET, without thinking twice Gretchen turned it on and allowed herself to get lost in the world of Elliot and ET. While she was watching her mind meandered back to years ago, back when ten year old Gretchen and the seven year old trio would all spread out in Dawson Leery's room, eating pop corn and watching this movie til their eyes burned. Of course back then, they all had the Peter Pan syndrome, the same one that Dawson had to this day.

_"Where's Pacey?" Dawson asked as Gretchen opened the door of his room._

_"My Dad grounded him, he forgot to take out the trash and then brought home an F." Gretchen said and cringed._

_"Ikes. Well I guess it's just us." Dawson said, "Bessie took Joey out for some "girl" time. Which is probably good after everything that's happened."_

_"Yeah. How's she holding up?" Gretchen asked, she felt bad for Joey, because as much as she didn't like her family, she couldn't imagine her life without them._

_"She's hanging in there. She doesn't like to talk about it." Dawson said as he got up and put in the movie._

_"So what are you doing then? I don't think I've seen her without you since it happened. This has to be the first time." Gretchen told him as she grabbed a piece of pop corn from bowl and took her usual spot in Dawson's computer chair._

_"Gretch you can sit over here. I'm not gonna bite. Unless it's too uncool to sit by a ten year old." Dawson said and gave her a grin. Thirteen year old Gretchen got up, straightening her cut offs and collapsed on the bed next to Dawson._

_"To answer your question, even when she's not talking, Joey is saying something. So when I'm walking with her, I'm listening." Dawson told her._

_"You're a good friend Dawson Leery." Gretchen told him and ruffled his white-blonde locks. Dawson's eyes lit up at the simple gesture and it made Gretchen want to do it again, she liked that she had the power to make Dawson smile. _

Gretchen looked up and the movie was over, just like it had been all those years ago, she had missed the entire thing, The first time they had talked through the movie and the now this time her mind had wandered through the whole thing. As she clicked off the TV she muttered, "How did Spielberg never win an Oscar for this?"

**A/N: Ok, so NOT making fun of Doug, but I was watching Gretchen's return and his house was so emmaculate. Secondly I know this was more Gretch Centric, but I wanted something to bridge the gap between sr yr and her coming home.**


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